HRK Building in Bonn ©HRK 

The Voice of the Universities

The universities are the core of the German science system. They spend more than nine billion Euros on research and development annually; 1.4 billion of which come from industry.

The German Rectors' Conference / Hochschulrektorenkonferenz (HRK) is the voluntary association of state and state-recognized universities in Germany. It currently has 266 member institutions at which more than 94 percent of all students in Germany are registered.

The HRK is the political and public voice of the universities and is the forum for the higher education institutions' joint opinion-forming process. The HRK addresses all topics relating to the responsibilities of higher education institutions: Research, teaching, studies, advanced continuing education and training, knowledge and technology transfer, international cooperation, and self-administration issues.

The HRK represents the interests of its member institutions also at an international level. Within the framework of its international strategy it provides advice and support to German universities in their internationalization process.